Quest For Retreat: Death Defying Acts-Part 17

Embodiments of Love!

Mata Amritanandhamayi Devi explains the goal in a very simple language which people like me can understand.

When we cross the lump of excreta the stench makes us to take a different route.

But Excreta may call out “Hey Friend, you said I am smelly, and no one should come near me; please remember, not too many hours before, I was a sweet smelling cake, colourful, fragrant and tasty fruit; after entering into people like you I became like this”

The simple truth is that we always blame something; we don’t remember our own state; if we can reflect properly on ourselves we will never be able to find fault with anyone else.

When I was thinking of becoming a witness, the question of forsaking Likes and Dislikes haunted me with the multiple options:

The above case of excreta gives an example—

is it that our likes and dislikes pertain to state of matter or state of our mind?

Let us take a case of a beautiful girl; anybody would be attracted towards her with many suitors in a big queue; in case she falls ill and turns weak and requires help for survival till death, how many of us would continue to have the same love and attraction?

A person while alive is venerated; if he dies within hours we just try to dispose of the body which was affectionate, successful, lovable etc ;

Did I love the body?

Did I love the thought of the person?

As ever, I am a confused person; to understand myself I wanted to have an explanation from Shri Adi Sankara.

त्यजाभिमानं कुलगोत्रनाम रूपाश्रमेष्वाश्रितेषु।

लिंगस्य धर्मानपि कर्तृतादिं स्त्यक्ता भवकण्डसुखस्वरूपः ॥

Vivekachudamani-297

Renounce your identification with family, lineage, name, form and order in Life,--attributes which pertain to the body, which is like a foul corpse.

So too renounce your ideas of agency etc which are attributes of the subtle body.

Thus realize your true essence as the attribute 0f Bliss itself!

To understand Adi Sankara’s above slokam from VIVIKACHUDAMANI—297, you have to refer to my earlier episodes to understand the layers of our body

Those who have not followed earlier episodes here is a recap:

1) Soul—the real “I”.

2) physical body which is identified wrongly as the real “ I”; in reality it is just a vehicle to carry out Karma

3) Vital body ( the 5 energies which sustain Life and get released when I die and project “ Me” to the level of its power—PRANA, APANA, VYAANA,UDHAANA, SMAANAA),

4) Subtle body--( this has subdivisions)

a) The Mental Body or the Mind ( the first layer)

b) The causal body or the Intellect, which is the Decision making process and reasoning ability)

c) The supracausal body or the Subtle Ego, The feeling that we are separate from God

Bhagad Gita just gives the bulldozing effect to the above discussion:

samatvam yoga ucyate is an attractive phrase which gives the essence of philosophies:

योगथः कुरु कर्माणि संगं त्यक्तवा धनञ्जय।

सिद्धयसिद्ध्योः समोभूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्य्ते॥

Bhagavad Gita 2-48

Transliteration

yoga-sthah kuru karmani

sangam tyaktva dhananjaya